Effects of recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor on the proliferationand function of porcine hepatocytes

A porcine hepatocyte based bioartificial liver (BAL) is stilt insufficient to replace liver transplantation. In this experiment, to strengthen the per formance of a BAL, the effect of human recombinant hepatocyte growth factor (rhHCF) on the proliferation and function of xenogeneic porcine hepatocyte s was studied. Isolated porcine hepatocytes were seeded at Various densitie s (5 x 10(3) to 8 x 10(4) cells/well on a collagen coated 96 well plate in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) with 10% FCS. After 4 hours, the medium was changed to DMEM with added insulin and dexamethasone. Subsequent ly, rhHGF was added at various concentrations (0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40 ng/ml) and cultured for an additional 25, 48, and 72 hours, respecti vely. The proliferation of porcine hepatocytes in response to rhHGF reached a plateau at 2.5 ng/ml at 24 hours and subsequently decreased. The levels of porcine albumin vs protein present in the supernatant increased when cul tured at high cell density. In conclusion, rhHCF was found to stimulate pro liferation of porcine hepatocytes at low cell density and low concentration . rhHGF can also increase albumin synthesis at higher cell density, thus in dicating its potential use in a more satisfactory porcine hepatocyte based BAL.